Fig 1.
Among cases collected via a questionnaire survey, those with missing data and those who had undergone surgery on the same day as a CART session were excluded. Efficacy was examined in the remaining 142 patients (350 sessions).
Table 1.
Patient characteristics and CART details.
Fig 2.
Classification by the type of ascitic and pleural fluids.
SAAG or SAEG were used to classify ascitic and pleural fluids into transudative and exudative types. The transudative fluid was dominant in liver cirrhosis, liver and biliary tract cancer and pancreatic cancer, while the exudative fluid was dominant in other types of cancer. Dotted bars represent transudative fluids. Solid bars represent exudative fluid. SAAG: serum-ascites albumin gradient. SEAG: serum-effusion albumin gradient.
Table 2.
Filtration-concentration conditions.
Table 3.
Amount and composition of original and processed ascites.
Fig 3.
Amount of reinfused protein and change in urine volume.
There was a significant positive correlation between the amount of reinfused protein and change in the urine volume.
Table 4.
Changes of clinical indices between pre- and post-CART.
Table 5.
Factors influencing the recovery rate of total protein.
Table 6.
Factors influencing the recovery rate of total protein by multivariate analyses.
Fig 4.
Changes in body temperature before and after reinfusion.
Body temperature was significantly higher upon completion of reinfusion than before reinfusion. On the other hand, body temperature was significantly lower one day after reinfusion than before reinfusion, though neither change was clinically significant.
Fig 5.
Changes in blood pressure before and after reinfusion.
Systolic blood pressure was significantly higher upon completion of reinfusion than before reinfusion, while there were no significant changes in diastolic blood pressure. Diamond: systolic blood pressure. Square: diastolic blood pressure.
Fig 6.
Body temperature before reinfusion and maximum body temperature: Comparison between the groups with and without use of steroids/NSAIDs.
Many cases without steroids/NSAIDs were found in the shaded area indicative of defined fever (body temperature ≥ 38°C and a 1°C increase from the pre-treatment level). A solid line indicates temperature 1°C above the pre-reinfusion level, while a dotted line indicates the same temperature as the pre-reinfusion temperature. Closed circles: with concomitant use of steroids/NSAIDs. Open triangles: without concomitant use of steroids/NSAIDs.
Table 7.
Factors associated with fever by univariate analyses.
Table 8.
Factors associated with fever by multivariate analysis.
Fig 7.
Relationship between the filtration-concentration speed and the increase in body temperature.
The increase in body temperature tended to be high when the filtration-concentration speed was high only among the patients with cirrhotic ascites and without concomitant use of steroids/NSAIDs (A). However, no relationship between them was found in malignant ascites regardless of concomitant use of steroids/NSAIDs (B). Circle: with concomitant steroids/NSAIDs. Open triangles: without concomitant steroids/NSAIDs. NSAIDs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Table 9.
Changes in blood test results between pre-and post-CART.
Table 10.
Adverse events associated with CART procedures.
Table 11.
Adverse events associated with reinfusion of filtered and concentrated ascites.
Table 12.
Factors associated with premature termination of CART sessions (univariate analysis).
Table 13.
Factors associated with premature termination of CART sessions (multivariate analysis).